Monday, May 21, 2012

Saturday, May 19, 2012

* "In 1871 a Congressional investigation was convened to look into Forrest's alleged involvement with the Klan and to revisit the Ft. Pillow "massacre." The investigation was chaired by Forrest's old enemy, William Tecumseh Sherman, who told the press that, "We are here to investigate Forrest, charge Forrest, try Forrest, convict Forrest, and hang Forrest."

The outcome of the 1871 investigation was twofold. The committee found no evidence that Forrest had participated in the formation of the Klan and that even the use of his name may well have been without his permission. They also found that there was no credible evidence that Forrest had ever participated in or directed any actions of the Klan.

"The reports of Committees, House of Representatives, second session, forty-second congress," P. 7-449.

"The primary accusation before this board is that Gen. Forrest was a founder of The Klan, and its first Grand Wizard, So I shall address those accusations first. In 1871, Gen. Forrest was called before a congressional Committee along with 21 other ex-Confederate officers including Admiral Raphael Semmes, Gen. Wade Hampton, Gen. John B.

Gordon, and Gen. Braxton Bragg. Forrest testified before Congress personally over four hours. Forrest took the witness stand June 27th, 1871. Building a railroad in Tennessee at the time, Gen Forrest stated he 'had done more , probably than any other man, to suppress these violence and difficulties and keep them down, had been vilified and abused in the (news) papers, and accused of things I never did while in the army and since. He had nothing to hide, wanted to see this matter settled, our country quite once more, and our people united and working together harmoniously.'

Asked if he knew of any men or combination of men violating the law or preventing the execution of the law: Gen Forest answered emphatically, 'No.' (A Committee member brought up a document suggesting otherwise, the 1868 newspaper article from the "Cincinnati Commercial". That was their "evidence", a news article.) Forrest stated '...any information he had on the Klan was information given to him by others.' Sen. Scott asked, 'Did you take any steps in organizing an association or society under that prescript (Klan constitution)?' Forrest: 'I DID NOT' Forrest further stated that '...he thought the Organization (Klan) started in middle Tennessee, although he did not know where.

It is said I started it.'

Asked by Sen. Scott, 'Did you start it, Is that true?'

Forrest: 'No Sir, it is not.'

Asked if he had heard of the Knights of the white Camellia, a Klan-like organization in Louisiana,

Forrest: 'Yes, they were reported to be there.'

Senator: 'Were you a member of the order of the white Camellia?'

Forrest: 'No Sir, I never was a member of the Knights of the white Camellia.'

Asked about the Klan:

Forrest: 'It was a matter I knew very little about. All my efforts were addressed to stop it, disband it, and prevent it....I was trying to keep it down as much as possible.'

Forrest: 'I talked with different people that I believed were connected to it, and urged the disbandment of it, that it should be broken up.'" The following article appeared in the New York times June 27th, "Washington, 1871. Gen Forrest was before the Klu Klux Committee today, and his examination lasted four hours. After the examination, he remarked than the committee treated him with much courtesy and respect." Congressional records show that Gen. Forrest was absolved of all complicity in the founding or operation of the Ku Klux Klan, and he was certainly never a "Grand Wizard". These committees had the utmost evidence and living witnesses at their disposal. The evidence precluded any Guilt or indictment of Gen. Forrest and the matter was closed before that body of final judgment in 1872. The following findings in the Final report of this committee of Congress concluded, "The statement of these gentlemen (Forrest and Gordon) are full and explicit...the evidence fully sustains them."

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Today in 1861, the Union Army showed what was to come when it fired on civilians killing 28.

"OFFICE ST. Louis RAILROAD Co.,

ST. Louis, May 11, 1861.

Dear Brother : Very imprudently I was a witness of the firing on the people by the United States Militia at Camp Jackson yesterday. You will hear all manner of accounts, and as these will be brought to bear on the present Legislature to precipitate events, maybe secession, I will tell you what I saw.

My office is up in Bremen, the extreme north of the city. The arsenal is at the extreme south. The State camp was in a pretty grove directly west of the city, bounded by Olive Street and Laclede Avenue. I went to my house on Locust, between Eleventh and Twelfth, at 3 P.M., and saw the whole city in commotion, and heard that the United States troops were marching from the arsenal to capture the State camp. At home I found Hugh and Charley Ewing and John Hunter so excited they would not wait for dinner, but went out to see the expected battle. I had no such curiosity and stayed to dinner, after which I walked out, and soon met a man who told me General Frost had surrendered.

I went back home and told Ellen, then took Willy to see the soldiers march back. I kept on walking, and about 5.30 P.M. found myself in the grove, with soldiers all round, standing at rest. I went into the camp till turned aside by sentinels, and found myself with a promiscuous crowd, men, women, and children, inside the grove, near Olive Street. On that street the disarmed State troops, some eight hundred, were in ranks.

Soon a heavy column of United States Regulars followed by militia came down Olive Street, with music, and halted abreast of me. I went up and spoke to some of the officers, and fell back to a knoll, where I met Hugh and Charley and John Hunter. Soon the music again started, and as the Regulars got abreast of the crowd, about sixty yards to my front and right, I observed them in confusion, using their bayonets to keep the crowd back, as I supposed.

Still, they soon moved on, and as the militia reached the same point a similar confusion began. I heard a couple of shots, then half a dozen, and observed the militia were firing on the crowd at that point, but the fire kept creeping to the rear along the flank of the column, and, hearing balls cutting the leaves of trees over my head, I fell down on the grass and crept up to where Charley Ewing had my boy Willy. I also covered his person. Probably a hundred shots passed over the ground, but none near us. As soon as the fire slackened, I picked Willy up, and ran with him till behind the rising ground, and continued at my leisure out of harm’s way, and went home.

I saw no one shot, but some dozen men were killed, among them a woman and little girl. There must have been some provocation at the point where the Regulars charged bayonets and where the militia began their fire. The rest was irregular and unnecessary, for the crowd was back in the woods, a fence between them and the street. There was some cheering of the United States troops and some halloos for Jeff Davis.

I hear all of Frost’s command who would not take the oath of allegiance to the United States are prisoners at the arsenal. I suppose they will be held for the orders of the President. They were mostly composed of young men who doubtless were secessionists. Frost is a New Yorker and was a graduate of West Point, served some years in the army, and married a Miss Graham here, a lady of great wealth and large connections. He was encamped by order of the Governor ; and this brings up the old question of State and United States authority. We cannot have two kings: one is enough; and of the two the United States must prevail. But in all the South, and even here, there are plenty who think the State is their king.

Dexter Manley who played for the Redskins, Graduated High
School and got into college. He could only read on a second grade level. But
God bless him he did the right thing. Mr. Manley took a positive action approach and learned
how to read. His story should be a map for others who can’t read.

My problem in this scenario is that some folks who can read,
and have earned diplomas, abuse their credentials and mislead others into believing
a false history! People who on the front page speak with authority and tout
their credentials, but on the back page talk like drunken sailors slinging
insults and profanity.

Your Character is gauged on what you do when no one is
around to see what you are doing! At my last post while on patrol I found a
wallet in the parking lot. I took it into the office, placed it in the lost and
found , then I documented it in the passdown log. I never opened it. When my
boss came on site I told him of the find. He opened the wallet counted the
money inside. $8.00 . It was then I
found out it was a test to see if I could be trusted. The company had placed
the wallet where I would be sure to see it, and wanted to see what my actions
would be. Thanks Dad ! Ya brung me up right.

The same gauge of character should apply to what you write
and teach !